20 Goals for 2020 – Quarter 1 Recap

What a quarter it has been.  When I first wrote out my 20 goals for 2020, I had no idea what was to come.

In the first 2 months of the year, things were just humming along and I was making great progress on many of the goals on my list.  Then a global pandemic was declared and things changed overnight.

I’m happy to report that I am still making progress on my goals but unfortunately some have been impacted by the current global situation. If you’re curious how I am balancing my 20 goals for 2020 then read on I’m about to share all the juicy details and numbers.

Health & Fitness Goals

#1 – Be Able to Touch Toes at Least Once a Month

This is a great goal to kick off the list with.  I’m happy to report that I am currently as flexible as I have ever been in my life.  Well maybe since I was a baby and could easily put my toes in my mouth.

I have consistently been able to touch my toes throughout every month this year so far.  As the year progresses so does my flexibility and there have been times where I have been able to get more than just my fingertips on the ground.

Moving forward as long as I continue to progress I think a stretch goal for this goal would be to get my hands flat on the ground at least once this year. And if I can do it once, I should be able to repeat it.

#2 – Exercise a Minimum of 3 Times a Week

This goal was easy in the beginning.  I have access to a fitness center and work with a personal trainer at work.  I had been consistently weightlifting 3 times a week and was stronger than I have ever been.

And then the global pandemic happened and I have been working from home for the past few weeks.  I do not have gym equipment at home so now fear that I will lose all my previous gains.

My little does love going for a wagon ride so we are going for nice long walks when the weather cooperates so that’s should count for something.

#3 – 1000 Sun Salutations

At the end of the first quarter of 2020 I had completed 611 sun salutations. This has been achieved by trying to consistently do 5 sun salutations every day and then adding them in here and there too.

I have experimented with doing them first thing in the morning, just before bed, and in between sets in my workout. So far my favourite time to do sun salutations is first thing in the morning to get my body moving. My second favourite time is right before bed because I’m more flexible than in the morning.

On a good day, I do 5 sun salutations first thing in the morning and 5 right before bed.  Now that I’m working from home for the foreseeable future there is no excuse not to continue with this habit.  

Right now I see no reason why I will not blow my goal out of the water. New stretch goal – 2500 sun salutations this year.

#4 – 1 Massage a Month

We are 3 months into 2020 and I have had 3 massages.  In January and February, I coordinated my massage appointments with my husband’s night shifts.  I would go for a massage in the afternoon of his weekend night shift.  This guaranteed that he would be around to watch our little one.

In March, instead of waiting until the perfect time to get my massage, I went for one as soon as I could.  And I’m so glad that I did because 3 days after I went for my monthly massage, the clinic shut down due to the pandemic.

I’m not sure how this goal will play out in future months as currently all non-essential services are closed.  I may have to adapt this goal to 12 massages this year.  Which may end up meaning a lot of massages at the end of the year.

Or I may also just pause this goal during the pandemic and realize that some things are out of my control.  I’m doing my best and my systems for this goal have worked. 

#5 – Wear Sunscreen Daily from May – September

Nothing to report here, it’s currently April at the time of writing this so no daily sunscreen for me, yet.

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Personal Goals

#6 – Read 20 Books

This first quarter started out consistent. So far I have read 5 books with a combination of fiction and non-fiction.  

Five books a quarter would put me on pace to read 20 books for the year. But now with the current economic situation and working from home, I’m hoping to carve out more reading time.  Regardless, this goal is in progress and on track to be achieved.

#7 – Wear Everything I Own

Like the other goals, this one started out well enough.  But now that I am working from home and self-isolating I’m finding that I’m only wearing a very small portion of my wardrobe.

In order to help with this, I did take some time to go through my closet again and fill another bag to be donated when donations centers open again. 

Wearing everything I own is the goal that I feel the least confident in with this list. I’m going to have to continue to strategize with this one and either increase the variety of clothes I wear or own fewer clothes.

#8 – Volunteer Quarterly

With a group of students that I work with at school, I have the opportunity to volunteer frequently. Instead of signing up for volunteer opportunities in January, I chose March. 

I was all signed up for and ready to volunteer for the local food bank in March.  And then they canceled all volunteering due to the current pandemic.  In lieu of this, hubby and I decided to allocate our annual donation money to the food bank this year instead of our regular charities of choice.

I do want to volunteer more this year and will be making an effort to do more once things return to some sense of normal.  Like my massage goal above, this one may also have to be adapted due to the pandemic.

#9 – 15 Minutes of Writing Every Day

The purpose of this goal was to take time for myself every day. Although I have not been writing consistently every day, I do feel like I am making progress in taking time for myself.  In the past, I have found this difficult being a new mom.

I would like to refocus on this goal and to write more consistently. Like anything, my writing will improve with practice. Definitely some more work to be done with this goal.

#10 – No Phone in Bed Before Bed

Achieving no phone in bed before bed this quarter was a success.  Not only did I not use my phone before bed, but lately I have also been experimenting with not using my phone for the first hour or so in the morning after waking up.

Creating a nighttime routine that does not include my cell phone has helped to increase the quality of my sleep.  This is definitely a goal that I will be continuing moving forward.  

And the benefits I’ve been feeling from the change in my morning routine is also a motivator to continue with that too.

Family Goals

#11 – Potty Train our Little One

Three months into this year and no substantial progress with this goal, but it’s still early and our little one is still pretty young.  

My mom bought our little one a padded toilet seat adapter so we have been putting her on the potty daily.  I’m not sure she really knows what’s going on but we have had successful use of the potty on a few occasions so far.

Fingers crossed we continue to make progress with our little one.

#12 – One Family Holiday

This year we decided to try something different, instead of going on our big family vacation during the summer we thought we would go on a ski vacation for spring break.  Hubby took the time off work and we got a great deal for 4 days of lodging and skiing in Kimberly, British Columbia.

And then you guessed it, there was a global pandemic, ski hills were forced to close and our vacation was canceled.

One of the reasons we enjoy traveling so much is that it is time for us to reconnect as a family without any other “distractions.”  Yes, we like the adventure but it’s also about relaxing and diving deeper into our financial freedom mindsets.

So, although we are not able to take a family vacation for the foreseeable future, our current circumstances feel like an ongoing staycation.

Not sure what a family vacation will look like for us this year, so we are just trying to make the best out of where we are right now.

#13 – Set up Work Space at Home

This success of this goal has been an unintended benefit of the global pandemic.  Now that I am working from home having a functional workspace is more important than it previously was.

We have set up a workspace for me to work and it’s not where we originally had intended for it to be, but it’s working for us.  I’m still not 100% satisfied with the setup, but it’s functional and a work in progress.

#14 – Find a Reliable and Trusted Babysitter

Well, this is one goal that I was purposefully procrastinating on.  In the first quarter of 2020, we didn’t really have a need for a babysitter and had planned on attacking this goal in the spring.

Well like everything else on this list, that has now changed too. Until things return to some form of normal we have no need for a reliable and trusted babysitter.  We will continue to self-isolate as a family and hubby and I are being conscious of giving each other free time.

Money Goals

#15 – 1 Month Eating-Out Ban

This goal was a success, in February, (yes, I know the shortest month of the year) we did not eat out once.

Although this goal has already been achieved for the year, I have a sneaking suspicion that we might just have more no eating out months in 2020.

#16 – $250 in “Found Money”

When I first made this goal, I had no idea if it was realistic, too easy or too difficult.  Now, one quarter into 2020 I think I might have to adjust this goal.  

In the first quarter, I managed to “find” $115.91, therefore achieving 46% of my annual goal.  As a stretch goal, I am going to try and “find” $500 this year.

My main sources of found money are interest on my high-interest savings account (which now holds a larger emergency fund), Great Canadian Rebates (for earning cash back on online purchases), phone apps such as Checkout51, Field Agent and Caddle, and PC Optimum Points.

This year I decided to take the plunge and upgrade to the PC Optimum Insiders subscription and so far I’m happy with my decision.  The cost is $99 a year but you can earn more points on various branded products.  As someone who frequently shops at Real Canadian Superstore, I hoping this membership pays for itself by the end of the year.

If you currently earn PC Optimum points and are not an Insider, you can use my referral code (MS2579) to get 25% off your first annual subscription – that’s like $25 of free money.

What I love about the PC Optimum points is how easy I can use them to buy groceries. Eventually, I hope to have a month where my grocery budget is $0 because I cashed in my PC Optimum points.

#17 Input Money Tracking by the End of the First Week of the Month

This has been a goal that I am very happy to have implemented. Taking some time at the beginning of the month to reconcile all my expenses from the previous month makes it so much easier.  I can track my monthly expenses more efficiently and then not have to worry about it later.

#18 – Host 2 Women and Money Meet Ups

I tried to make progress with this goal this quarter but unfortunately did not. I scheduled a Mommas Talk Money evening with my mom friends, but nobody was able to attend. This could be because it was short notice, or could also be that nobody wants to talk about money.

But I’m not discouraged. I have planned another Mommas Talk Money evening to occur online in April. I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that some mommas will want to attend.

Creating a safe space for women (especially moms) to talk about money is something that is really important to me. This is one goal I am determined to be successful at.

#19 – 50% Annual Savings Rate

For the first quarter this year, I decided to keep my savings rate calculation very simple. I took the money I transferred into our savings accounts (for various goals) and divided it by our net take-home income. 

This number is not terribly accurate at determining our true savings rate as we both contribute to workplace pensions and are paying down our mortgage at an accelerated rate. But this is the easiest way of calculating a savings rate. Although I don’t believe regular mortgage payments should count towards one’s savings rate, extra payments, in my opinion, should.

So our quarter 1, easy calculation savings rate is 47.8% – not too far off of the goal. Maybe next quarter I will try to complicate the calculation. By the end of the year, I may even try to calculate our true savings rate just to see what it is for the year.

#20 – Pay Down Mortgage by 20%

Although we started the year off with some sizeable lump sum payments towards our mortgage we have recently decided to slow down slightly.  With the uncertainty of everything right now we have decided to increase our emergency fund for the time being.

Eventually, we hope to resume our mortgage lump sum payments but for right now we are sleeping better at night knowing we have a large contingency fund should we need it.

That being said, we have managed to pay down 3.98% of our mortgage in the first quarter of 2020.  This is in part due to the previously mentioned lump sum payments and in part to our increased bi-weekly mortgage payments.  

The continual progress is comforting and I can’t wait to be mortgage free, again. At our current pace, we will be able to pay off close to 16% of our mortgage this year. Here’s hoping we can do better than that and reach the 20% goal.

2020 Goals Quarter 1 Recap

1. Be Able to Touch Toes at Least Once a Month – in progress, on track
2. Exercise a Minimum of 3 Times a Week – in progress, requires attention
3. 1000 Sun Salutations – in progress, on track
4. 1 Massage a Month – in progress, on track but may require attention
5. Wear Sunscreen Daily from May – September – yet to be started
6. Read 20 Books – in progress, on track
7. Wear Everything I Own – requires attention
8. Volunteer Quarterly – requires attention
9. 15 Minutes of Writing Every Day – requires attention
10. No Phone in Bed Before Bed – in progress, on track
11. Potty Train our Little One – requires attention
12. One Family Holiday – yet to be started
13. Set up Work Space at Home – complete
14. Find a Reliable and Trusted Babysitter – yet to be started
15. 1 Month Eating-Out Ban – complete
16. $250 in “Found Money”– in progress, on track
17. Input Money Tracking by the End of the First Week of the Month – in progress, on track
18. Host 2 Women and Money Meetups – yet to be started
19. 50% Annual Savings Rate – in progress, on track
20. Pay Down Mortgage by 20% – in progress, may require attention

Final Thoughts

I’m very happy with the progress I’ve been able to make on so many of my goals for 2020.  But I am also hesitant about the progress that I will be able to make next quarter.  

There is a lot of uncertainty right now so I’m not sure how my goals will end up this year.  What I do know is that a lot of these goals are focused on the progress and intended overall life outcome as opposed to just a number and success and failure.

Regardless, if every goal is achieved or not by the end of the year I am very content with the changes I have already experienced.

How are your goals progressing so far this year?